Night of Champions 2020 LD

[klunderbunker]

Clash Of Champions 2020
Date: September 27, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We’re back to the show that is all about titles, which should be the majority of shows but this one is special due to reasons of they need a theme. The big story at the last minute is two matches being changed for reasons that aren’t entirely clear but virus issues seem like a strong possibility. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

And That's Why He's A Star

[Jack-Hammer]

Clash of Champions was far and away better than I was expecting. The only bad thing on the card was Asuka vs. Bayley and it wasn't even that bad, it was more of an angle to set up the angle of Sasha getting a small measure of revenge on Bayley.

I thought the ladder match was a fantastic outing both in terms of how hard the wrestlers worked and in Sami Zayn's creativity in the use of the handcuffs. I groaned a little when they came out but fell in love with it once I saw Zayn hook one of the cuffs through Jeff Hardy's ear and cuff him to a ladder. The thing with Styles played out perfectly and Zayn looked better here than he has in a long time. He came off as a tough, scrappy, intelligent heel instead of the mouthy clown WWE has generally had him for quite a while now. I'm more than fine with Zayn winning the title and I hope he keeps it for a good long while. ****1/2

The rest of the card was pretty good overall. Asuka vs. Zelina was far more than I was expecting, Zelina held her own and showed off a good deal of ability. I still think this match would've "felt" better had Zelina been built up over the course of a few months. At the same time, however, Asuka has beaten just about everyone else on Raw and it'd be a shame just to feed someone like Bianca Belair to her. A good effort from Zelina in a short match but one that felt longer, but in a good way. ***1/2

Bobby Lashley vs. Apollo Crews was a pretty good outing, better than any they've had so far and they managed to pull me into it with a few believable near falls for Crews. Considering there's no heat for this program due to Lashley getting the best of Crews each and every time, whether it be in a tag team match, singles match or some sort of brawl, this was a good effort. Lashley retained and it's time to move him on to someone else. ***

The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza was a fun, energetic, well paced match but, at the same time, I'm getting tired of seeing these two go at it in all these standard tag team matches. I also wish WWE would make up its mind as to whether or not they're gonna keep Andrade and Garza together. The ending seemed like it was botched, I dunno really as it's hard to tell, as Andrade's shoulder was very clearly off the mat at two. I guess this means yet another match between them, which is okay if they're finally going to put the titles on Andrade and Garza. The WWE Draft is coming up next Friday, the profits have been the Raw Tag Champs for well over 200 days, they've done a good job as champs but I think it's time for a change. ***

Asuka vs. Bayley began with Bayley out in the ring bragging that Nikki Cross wasn't medically cleared to compete and offered an open challenge, one that Asuka accepted. the match was too short really to rank as Bayley got herself disqualified by hitting Asuka with a chair. Almost immediately after, Bayley is hit with a chair from behind by Sasha Banks, who is wearing a soft collar around her neck. She sells the injury as if swinging the chair and hitting Bayley with a kendo stick hurts her, which it could if she had a bad neck. All in all, a solid segment.

Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship had it's ups and downs. The problem with a match like this featuring Randy Orton is the pace sometimes slows to an absolute crawl. A methodical pace is one thing but some of Orton's matches are so slow that it's just plain dull. I get that he's a great storyteller, but he doesn't have to move like a snail to establish a psychological basis for the story being told. The addition of Big Show, Christian and HBK to each smack Orton around a bit fit in with the overall story and it protects Orton and gives them a reason to put them inside HIAC next month. If WWE wants to do matches like this then, frankly, I feel they need to be more physical because the pace can take you out of it. I'm not saying that they go out there and kill each other, but the punch and kick fest of a match like this leaves a lot to be desired. ***

Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso was fantastic from top to bottom. Fantastic, first rate storytelling from everyone involved. The whole thing quickly sucked me in and had me waiting to see what'd happen next. Reigns came off like a remorseless killer with a sociopathic need to prove his dominance, especially over his own family. It was easy to get behind Jey as he came off as heroic, prideful and resilient but was up against someone who was just simply too much for him to handle, yet refused to submit or give Reigns the satisfaction of being acknowledged as the "tribal chief." Reigns could've pinned him after the first spear but he craved that submission on Jey's part, he needed it and wasn't getting it. Jimmy limping out with the towel in his hand, begging Jey to give up was the perfect way to end it. They're twins and have a legit bond that some twins have that goes beyond what most other siblings have. Jimmy threw in the towel even though Jey himself didn't submit and the ref, Charles Robinson, played his role perfectly as well in that he came off as someone afraid of Reigns and torn between what he was supposed to do as a ref and what he wanted to do as a human being. The match also featured a lot of good action and a few really good near falls. I may be ranking it a little too high but I just enjoyed this a whole helluva lot. *****

Clash of Champions is probably WWE's best "main roster" PPV in quite a while. There wasn't anything bad on the show and, frankly, I felt that Bayley vs. Nikki Cross and the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship matches not happening made the show stronger. Why? Well, we've already seen Bayley knock off Nikki Cross more than once in title matches and Nia Jax being half of the women's tag champs just saps the interest and energy right out of the whole thing, at least for me. The show was bookended by two stellar bouts while the undercard was strong. I was a little disappointed in McIntyre vs. Orton but, in all honesty, I didn't have high hopes for it because Ambulance Matches are kind of lame as a whole. Hopefully, they'll deliver a stronger outing inside HIAC.

Grade: B+